Director Denis Villeneuve and actor Jake Gyllenhaal are back in theatres together again this weekend with the psychological thriller Enemy.

Adapted from the late Nobel laureate José Saramago's novel The Double, Enemy is a mind-bending, Toronto-set tale about an introverted, dishevelled professor who discovers he has a doppelganger — an outgoing, bit-part actor — and becomes obsessed with tracking him down. Once they meet, the lives of the two men become irrevocably intertwined.

Working on the two films, actor and director developed a strong, mutual respect.

"As a director, you're a bit of a dictator. But I feel that you're a better director if you're open to other people's ideas. It means that it's tougher: you have to be in a choosing process, you have to put the ego aside," Villeneuve told CBC News.

"As long as everybody's aiming in the same direction...I'm open to my main partners in the film crew."

"That's the balance," Gyllenhaal added, "where there's a deep respect for the things that he wants, but sometimes he'll really listen if my instinct is strong about something."

In the attached lead video, Villeneuve and Gyllenhaal talk to CBC's Eli Glasner about their working relationship.